Reactions to the Arrests of Don Lemon and Georgia Fort
What journalist organizations, politicians, and others said about
Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort were unlawfully arrested Friday morning for covering a protest that interrupted a Minneapolis church service after immigration agents killed Renée Nicole Good in Minneapolis this month. To be clear, they were not among the activists who entered the church — they were merely there to cover the events and report on it for the public.
Below, a roundup of reactions.
The National Press Club: “The National Press Club is deeply alarmed by the arrest of journalist Don Lemon by federal agents Thursday night in Los Angeles while he was covering the Grammy Awards.
Jailing a journalist for doing their job is dangerous — not only for press freedom, but for the public’s right to know. When reporters risk arrest for documenting events of public interest, the result is fewer witnesses, less accountability, and a more uninformed public….
“The National Press Club is also concerned by reports that other independent journalists may have been detained in connection with this coverage. If confirmed, such actions would signal a troubling pattern of targeting journalists for newsgathering.
Journalism is not a crime. Arresting or detaining journalists for covering protests, public events, or government actions represents a grave threat to press freedom and risks chilling reporting nationwide.
The world is watching closely, and the implications of this case extend far beyond any one reporter.”
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison: “In Minnesota, we do not treat journalists like criminals for doing their jobs. No one should be arrested merely for holding a camera, asking hard questions, or telling the public what we have a right to know.
The First Amendment protects both the right of journalists to gather and report information without fear of retaliation and the right of the people to receive that information and know what their government and institutions are doing in their name.
The First Amendment is not a luxury in a democracy. It is a necessity.”
CNN: “The FBI’s arrest of our former CNN colleague Don Lemon raises profoundly concerning questions about press freedom and the First Amendment,” the network said. “The Department of Justice already failed twice to get an arrest warrant for Don and several other journalists in Minnesota, where a chief judge of the Minnesota Federal District Court found there was ‘no evidence’ that there was any criminal behavior involved in their work. The First Amendment in the United States protects journalists who bear witness to news and events as they unfold, ensuring they can report freely in the public interest, and the DOJ’s attempts to violate those rights is unacceptable. We will be following this case closely.”
“These arrests under bogus legal theories for obviously constitutionally protected reporting are clear warning shots aimed at other journalists,” said Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation. “The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists: “This is an egregious attack on the First Amendment and on journalists’ ability to do their work,” said CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg. “As an international organization, we know that the treatment of journalists is a leading indicator of the condition of a country’s democracy. These arrests are just the latest in a string of egregious and escalating threats to the press in the United States — and an attack on people’s right to know.”
Abbe Lowell, Lemon’s attorney: “Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done. The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY): “The Trump administration’s arrest of Don Lemon and other journalists is a disgraceful affront to the First Amendment and a corrupt weaponization of the criminal justice system. Don is the most recent target of the ongoing attacks by Donald Trump and his sycophants on those who challenge the administration and refuse to bend the knee to their extremism. Pam Bondi and her Department of Justice have chosen to spend taxpayer dollars persecuting law-abiding journalists reporting on DHS brutality in Minnesota instead of investigating the masked thugs who killed two American citizens in cold blood.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): “And let’s be very clear—this arrest is not just about one journalist in one incident. The arrest is a dark message to journalists everywhere: if you dare criticize this administration, watch your back. That is not democracy. That is a police state and that is pure authoritarian bile. Democracy will suffer if the government chokes our civil liberties.
Under this administration, the Department of Justice has all too often become the Department of Vengeance.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX): “Let me be clear: this is not law enforcement. This is censorship by an authoritarian government.
This administration has declared open war on the First Amendment. We have seen journalists surveilled, their homes searched, and their access to government agencies deliberately limited for refusing to serve as state propaganda. Today, that campaign of intimidation escalated into outright arrests.”
The Contrarian went Live with April Ryan, Jen, and Norm to discuss our reaction and the actions that will and should be taken in response to this flagrant assault on our First Amendment.
The more they squeeze, the louder we shout. I'll be protesting tomorrow. Will you?
Shades of Russia, Belarus, China, Myanmar, Iran, and Israel to name but a few nations involved in the suppression of dissent. I can hardly believe Dom Lemon was targeted: I listen to his conversations with Mike Nellis regularly. They speak for all of us, as do other targeted pundits and journalists. Wow. We all know about rogue cops, but the entire Trump administration is beyond rogue—the most corrupt bunch of leeches ever. I bet there’s a book for all the victims of this misadventure, however!